1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible pouch and related beverage container with an internal frangible seal to allow mixing of components in the pouch. More specifically but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a clear plastic pouch with re-closable fitment having two different flavored liquids in separated compartments wherein a sustained squeeze will burst the seal and swirl the flavors together.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally known in the art to use a flexible plastic pouch for packaging a variety of food related products including individual servings of a beverage. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,860,743; 6,076,968, and 6,164,825 disclose stable, flexible, easy open pouches wherein a straw can be readily inserted into the pouch through a frangible seal in a spill-preventing uppermost gusset and the pouch can be set upright on a plurality of coplanar feet. Also, a dual compartment stand-up pouch formed of flexible material for holding and simultaneously dispensing two separate paste-like materials in and from two separate but interconnected compartments is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,822. And, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,347 discloses an internal W-shaped frangible seal line in a multi-chambered thermoplastic film package to isolate a dextrose solution from an amino acid solution prior to mixing them for intravenous medical treatment.
It is also generally known in the art that a frangible seal can be produced between heat-sealable films. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,539,263 and 4,550,141 disclose blends of partially neutralized ethylene/acid copolymer (i.e., ionomer) with minor amounts of propylene/acid copolymer to make heat-sealable films and laminates. Such structures are characterized by nearly constant peel strength over an extended heat seal temperature range. The blends are useful to manufacture heat-sealed flexible film packages having a seal of predictable and constant peel strength, in spite of inevitable variations in the heat seal temperature used in the production of such packages.